MILITARY VETERAN CREWS

Veterans Conservation Crew Restores Trails at National Monument
(News.Bytes Extra)
Sledge hammers, shovels, crow bars and pure muscle were the tools used by 13 members of a Veterans Conservation Corps and 21 community volunteers as they worked side-by-side on a trail restoration project in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, just outside Palm Springs, Calif. http://www.ca.blm.gov/tsld

RELATED: California Conservation Corps Veterans Cleanup Hiking Trails (My Desert, 02/16/14)
Members of the Conservation Lands Foundation, BLM, Friends of the Desert Mountains and the Desert Trails Hiking Club worked side-by-side with an all-veterans California Conservation Corps crew to make repairs along a stretch of Hopalong Cassidy Trail in Palm Desert. http://www.ca.blm.gov/rsld

Folsom Lake Veterans Fire Crew (BLM Facebook).
We have a quote from one of the firefighters about the experience and have their firefighter status on a Facebook photo album. http://ow.ly/u2dzC

HEADLINES and HIGHLIGHTS

Exchange Club Honors Bravery and Commitment
(Kern Valley Sun, 02/05/14)
The 2013 Firefighter of the Year Award Dinner was held at Paradise Cove Lodge with over 90 people in attendance. This year's recipients of the award; John Moreno, BLM and... http://www.ca.blm.gov/ssld

RELATED: Fire Battalion Chief John Moreno Named BLM's 2013 Firefighter of the Year (BLM Facebook) http://ow.ly/u2hle

RELATED: Alabama Hills Recreation Area
(BLM Tumblr)
The rounded contours of the Alabamas form a sharp contrast between the glacially chiseled ridges of the Sierra Nevada. http://www.ca.blm.gov/zsld

FIELD Crews Assist BLM with Invasive Plant Removal
(News.Bytes Extra)
The BLM Ridgecrest Field Office successfully partnered with the Farmworker Institute of Education & Leadership Development (FIELD) on a tamarisk removal project. http://www.ca.blm.gov/wsld

Little of Federal Horse Budget Spent on Fertility
(Times-Standard, 02/19/14)
Wild horse advocates say the fiscal year 2013 budget numbers show the BLM has reneged on a commitment to fertility control as the best way moving forward to keep herd numbers in check when necessary in Nevada and nine other Western states. http://www.ca.blm.gov/9sld

A Winter Vole Study
(BLM Facebook)
A team of researchers and volunteers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife, Investigations Lab, UC Davis, U.S. Geological Survey, and BLM are involved in a winter study to learn more about the Amargosa vole. This endangered vole doesn't hibernate in the winter, like some other mammals, and little is known about its behavior and biology. http://ow.ly/u2BHB

BLM and Forest Service to Apply for Off-Road Funding
(Victorville Daily Press, 02/19/14)
According to Friends of Juniper Flats, the organization and the BLM are working closely together on a grant for restoration in the Juniper Flats area, which will help protect important natural resources and restore closed vehicle routes. http://www.ca.blm.gov/jsld

Crackdown in Desert Steams Off-Roaders
(San Diego Union-Tribune News, 02/23/14)
A growing number of off-road enthusiasts are getting steamed over what they call heavy-handed law enforcement practices by federal rangers in the popular Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. http://www.ca.blm.gov/nsld

DISCOVER THE COAST

Come Discover the Coast and Follow the Gray Whale Migration!
(BLM Facebook)
It is the third busiest year ever for whales passing by Palos Verdes. http://www.ca.blm.gov/5sld

Good Morning! Are You Feeling Revved up for the Day? (BLM Facebook)
Some of us (photo) just want to laze around. Get ready, it's time for a quiz. Seal or sea lion and why? http://www.ca.blm.gov/3sld

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Feds Green Light 2 More Solar Projects in Ivanpah Valley (KCET Rewire, 02/19/14)
The U.S. Interior Department announced Wednesday it was approving two large solar projects in the Mojave Desert that may displace or harm more than 2,000 desert tortoises. http://www.ca.blm.gov/psld

A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future
(The New York Times, 02/13/14)
The Ivanpah solar power plant stretches over more than five square miles of the Mojave Desert. Almost 350,000 mirrors the size of garage doors tilt toward the sun with an ability to energize 140,000 homes. http://www.ca.blm.gov/ctld

Environmentalists Say Solar Projects Will Endanger Desert Tortoises (My Desert, 02/23/14)
Federal officials announced the approval of two solar energy plants on public lands in California and Nevada, angering environmentalists who say the facilities will endanger desert tortoises. The government said it would work to protect the tortoises by expanding the Ivanpah Desert Wildlife Management Area by more than 20,000 acres. http://www.ca.blm.gov/msld

WILDLIFE TRIVIA QUESTION of the WEEK

When it comes to Sea lions, which of the following are true?(a) can walk on their flippers
(b) are brownish in color
(c) molt their fur once a year
(d) have a great sense of musical rhythm
(e) a, b, c
(f) all of the above

Feb. 2: BLM Seeking Public Input on Drought Response Planning (BLM News Release)
BLM is seeking public input on issues to be considered when the Surprise Field Office develops an environmental assessment for managing livestock and wild horses during drought. http://www.ca.blm.gov/7sld

Mar. 4 - Apr. 7: BLM Seeks Input on California State Parks OHV Grant Application
(BLM News Release)
BLM is submitting a grant application to the California State Parks Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division to help manage off-highway vehicle recreation opportunities on public lands. The preliminary application will be available on the OHMVRD's website at http://www.ohv.parks.ca.gov/ for review and comment. http://www.ca.blm.gov/8sld

Mar- Apr: Wednesday Wildflower Walks - San Joaquin River Gorge SRA
(BLM Facebook)
Every Wednesday Morning in February and March 2014 at the San Joaquin River Gorge Special Recreation Management Area. http://www.ca.blm.gov/2sld
Mar 15: North Algodones Dunes Night Hike (BLM Facebook)
Join a park ranger for a fun night hike roaming the sand hills (dogs permitted). This moderately easy hike follows sandy washes and climbs the short dunes. http://ow.ly/u2rK6

Apr 5: The Palos Verdes/ Point Vicente Whale of a Day Event (BLM Facebook)
The event was rescheduled from March to April due to poor weather. Come celebrate the magnificent gray whale and our California coast. http://www.ca.blm.gov/0sld

DEPARTMENT of the INTERIOR VIDEO

DOI Weekly Video: February 21, 2014
(DOI YouTube)
This Week at Interior: two solar energy projects are approved near the California-Nevada border; Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor joins President Obama on a visit to drought-stricken California; the first publicly available interactive map of 47,000 onshore wind turbines is released... http://youtu.be/F4s7H0v_bvY

WILDLIFE TRIVIA ANSWER and related information

When it comes to Sea lions, which of the following are true?

(f) all of the above

RELATED: Dancing Animals Help Tell Us Why Music Evolved
(National Geographic, 02/16/14)
The question has turned into a burgeoning scientific field -- one that looks at everything from boy-band-loving cockatoos to head-bobbing sea lion -- with implications for how and why music evolved in people. http://www.ca.blm.gov/lsld

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